The Road to Love
by RoseScor90
Summary: When Draco entered the detention chamber for the first time in his life, he never thought he'd meet his wife there. R&R!


Disclaimer: Not JK…

A/n: Written for the emotions challenge. The given emotion was hostility.

The first time he met her, she was chained to the walls of the dungeons, awaiting punishment. Her cloak was frayed, grimy and torn; it was apparent that she had been staying there for some days, weeks even. Her hands were limp; she was almost kneeling on the floor, her unnaturally long, now filthy raven hair curtaining her face as she remained bent down looking at the floor. It was the first time he was seeing the detention chamber and he wasn't disappointed. It did resemble the torture house he had had imagined in his mind's eye, except he hadn't thought of visiting it as a 'faculty'.

There had been a need for people to supervise detention and Carrow had requested him to help out. The Malfoy heir wasn't someone even Professors could order around. But what he hadn't expected was to find a Slytherin, a goddamned pureblooded Slytherin to be his first victim. Just as he had gathered his wits and had lifted his wand straight to her heart, she lifted her head and stared at him with…_hostility_ and _hatred,_ as he had never seen. He almost took a step back, but held his feet in place. He wasn't going to be sidetracked from his mission simply because his prey had _antagonistic_ eyes.

"Crucio!" there was no reaction from her indicating that the curse had affected her at all, except for the slight start as the unforgivable hit her. As minutes passed he watched her intently, trying to find even the slightest break in her mask. But she was a honed Slytherin. None showed and when he lifted the curse off her, she simply looked at him with those _resentment_ filled eyes. He had almost turned back to leave, when a sudden change in her stoic face caught his attention. And held it for a few minutes more than anything normally did those days.

She was _smirking_ at him, in that doleful, yet opposing manner. Her thin-to the-point-of-non-existence lips quirked up to one side, making her stark white teeth shine through. Her eyes challenged him, though they did not stray even a bit from their fury. He felt like her emerald eyes were shooting Avada kedavras at him. He did not want to die.

"Why are you leaving so soon, Draco?"

"I'll just finish her off later"

"May be I could…" Goyle's eyes glinted with greed for something other than food, and Draco wished he had stayed a goon.

"Leave her. She's mine. That's an order you'd better obey, Goyle" he walked out the dungeons without a backward glance at her.

XXXXX

The next time he met her was in the middle of a fifth floor corridor as she was hurrying to classes. The only difference he could find in her was that she was no longer filthy or grimy. Her hair swayed about her hips as she rushed as fast as she could towards her class.

_Nothing had changed_, was the only though that ran through his head as her searing eyes met his when they passed by each other.

"Greengrass"

"Draco"

He discovered one new thing about her that day; it wasn't just her eyes that were haunting.

XXXXX

"Bombardo!" Draco heard rather than saw the moving staircase blow up behind him. He had just stepped down from the last stair and there had been atleast five Death Eaters following him.

"Now we're even" her narrowed eyes turned now to the closest Death Eater as she began throwing hex after deadly hex at him. Noticing a spell from behind, he acted out on instinct.

"Protego! No we're not, Greengrass"

It was too late, though. Attack one Death Eater and you bring the entire clan upon yourself and Draco spent the rest of the battle stunning and disarming the people he had thought as his father's kin. The task wasn't as difficult as he had imagined.

But he wasn't glad of what he had done, even if it helped him buy a ticket out of Azkaban.

Because whether he was locked up behind bars or out cold on a bed in St Mungo's with fatal injuries, he knew what would consume his dreams; those scorching eyes.

XXXXX

Draco opened the door to his apartment to be met with a devastating sight. Not that watching Daphne Greengrass lounge on his couch was anything dangerous. He knew she was harmless as a flobberworm. _Her_, though. _She_ could move mountains, or frozen impenetrable rocks that had been his heart.

Seeing her there, sitting mutely beside Daphne tapering her intense eyes on him, he couldn't help but wonder if he had ever murdered someone and providence was coming on to castigate him. Facing her disgusted eyes felt so to him. And then she smirked that bloody smirk that had him reeling. He thought he saw the veil in her eyes part slightly but before he could decipher anything behind them, he was distracted.

"Draco, are you even listening to me?"

"Yes, I'll be there Daph. I don't understand why you feel the need to come here to tell me something I already know and am invited to." He acted as if he was staring at the window facing him but in all actualities, his eyes were transfixed on hers, eager to see what else they'll reveal about the woman behind them.

"Oh, hush, Draco. For once in your life, be there on time and leave that sulking cloak of yours _outside"_ Daphne stood up, as did she.

"I'll try" his unaffected grin froze in place as he turned away to wish her goodbye. She was smiling at him. _Smiling_, in that oh so alluring manner that had his heart doing Wronskies.

"Come along Astoria"

"Greengrass"

"See you around, Draco" she lashed out at him one last time with her smile before she disapparated, leaving him drained. He now knew what was more devastating than her eyes.

XXXXX

It was no wonder that he sought her out. When he entered the stuffy room, the party was already in full swing. Daphne cornered him as soon as he did and after berating him for being late, _again,_ went to bother her beau. It didn't elicit any reaction from him, except the usual bafflement from meeting her eyes.

She was seated across the room in the furtherest, darkest corner, sipping what appeared to be a goblet of firewhiskey. She wore a blood red number that just about blended with the lights in the room. But no amount of illumination could dull the luster in her eyes as she regarded his approach.

"Draco. Lovely evening, isn't it?" he waved off her attempt at formality. He was sick of it by now. He took a seat before her, his back to the din and dancing. His actions seemed to please her, and her eyes smiled, though her lips remained still. He saw the transparent veil that cloaked her fall from her eyes, and was struck with the force of the emotions behind them.

"Dance with me?" she simply placed her delicate hand in his; where it stayed for the rest of the evening. It was that day that Draco found what could be melodious than music; the simple sound of her voice.

XXXXX

When he spotted her head among the throng of Ministry employees leaving, he couldn't help but call out.

"Astoria!" she smiled a little at the person beside her before she began negotiating the crowd towards him. She was neither too quick, nor too hesitant. So was the expression on her face though her eyes never lost the shine in them.

"Draco. I thought you'd stand me up" she seemed so delighted by the prospect that it made him wonder why she agreed to go out with him at all.

"I never do that to beautiful women like you, Astoria."

"I know."

"So, how's the job at the Department of Mysteries coming along?" he was pleased to note the hint of surprise that showed on her face.

"As much as I'd love to tell you all about it, I can't" the sarcastic humor he had discovered she possessed the other night coated her words and he grinned, most likely giving more half the people staring at them quizzically heart failure.

"Funny, Astoria"

"Why'd you want to have dinner with me, though?"

"Can't I do that without having an ulterior motive? I'm Daphne's classmate and you are her sister. That makes us acquaintances, right?"

"Sure does" she laughed then. And Draco found something that could be sweeter than her words; her laugh.

XXXXX

Draco paced the garden of the Greengrass Manor; impatient. Astoria was never late. Was she going to start now, when he had something important to tell her?

"Draco" she had been walking down the steps as he had been pacing, watching with amusement, the clarity with which she could see his anxiety. If not for the speed walking, noone would have thought he was nervous. But she knew, it had taken her a long while but she knew now. From the way his eyes darted to the Manor's gate to the intimidating building itself; from the way he kept looking at the Muggle watch she had forced him to wear; from the way he raised his hand to his hair absently before remembering he shouldn't mess it up. Even before she met his eyes, she knew he'd be edgy.

"Astoria! I've been waiting for so long!" he jogged to her side and took her hands in his, drawing her closer. His welcome kiss was just a bit more intense than normal and she couldn't help but smile; he had missed her.

"I know, Draco. You told me you had something to tell me?"

"Ask you, actually. I was wondering if, can we not stand still like this?"

"Sure. Let's walk around the garden. Should give you enough time to gather your courage"

"I'm not a coward" she knew she was dragging him out, but she couldn't resist herself. It wasn't as if she didn't know what the matter was, anyway. She leaned up to kiss his cheek before replying.

"Sure, you're not" he met her eyes then, and she could see them laughing with her. So long, it had taken so long for her to bring that light in his eyes. And it had all been worth it; he was the most devoted, caring, loving boyfriend she could ever have hoped for. Of course, he'd never admit to that, but his actions spoke just as well. He drew her closer to him as they walked and put an arm around her shoulder as she leaned on him. She would have been content to just stay there but no, fate decided to make her life even better.

"Astoria, I have something pretty important to ask you. We've been dating for three years now and I've never been…happier in my life than I've been these past years. If you would…If you will…Will you marry me?" he appeared to be out of breath, as if he had run non-stop around the length of the house. And for the first time in her life, Astoria let out a relieved chuckle.

"I thought you'd forgotten all about it, Draco. Of course, I will" he seemed dumbstruck and I was a moment before he replied.

"Really?"

"Yes, Draco, really. You aren't back tracking, are you?" she knew he wasn't.

"No way. I've been searching for you all my life, you know"

"I've been right beside you, Draco, right beside you. And I love you too" he never said it, but she knew he did.

XXXXX

"Tori! Could you come here for a bit?"

"What is it now, Draco? And how many times do I have to tell you not to call me…" she stood still at the doorway, not that he noticed. His eyes were locked on his eight month old son, who was attempting to walk towards the door where he could see his father and mother were. He was unsteady on his feet and his steps were erratic but there couldn't have been a dance more captivating to the two of them.

Draco's arms lifted on their own accord as little Scorpius neared him and catching the stumbling child felt next to natural to him. So did lifting him up into the air to hear his gurgle of joy.

"He walked" Draco turned to the beaming sight of his wife and smiled. Looking back at the treasure in his arms, Draco found something that was more precious to him than Astoria's love; his son's happiness.

A/n: Review!


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